


Little No More

by patton_pending



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Logic | Logan Sanders Angst, Logic | Logan Sanders-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27927955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patton_pending/pseuds/patton_pending
Summary: Logan decides to tell Roman, Patton, and Virgil about his age regression. It doesn’t go as planned and the consequences are unexpected.
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Comments: 10
Kudos: 123





	Little No More

**Author's Note:**

> My longest one shot yet I think!! Hope y’all enjoy!! 🖤🖤🖤
> 
> Warnings: Patton, Roman, and Virgil being judgmental about age regression (not exactly unsympathetic sides but read with caution i think), crying, hurt/comfort-ish, Logan angst, and i think that’s it but lemme know if I missed anything!!!

Logan had to tell the others about his age regression.

They would find out on their own somehow eventually, he knew this. He would much rather be the one to tell them upfront. At least Remus and Janus knew already, so he only had Virgil, Roman, and Patton to tell.

Not an intimidating task at all.

He stood in his room staring at the door. He could do this. He glanced to his bed where his unicorn stuffie, Rainbow, sat. He picked her up and gave her a quick hug and set her back down.

For good luck.

He went out to find the others. Virgil and Roman were in the living room, Roman watching a movie while Virgil listened to something in his big headphones and scrolled through his phone. Where might Patton be?

"Oh, hey, Specs," Roman greeted. "Come to watch The Little Mermaid?"

"No, I actually needed to talk with all of you about something. Where's Patton?"

"Uh oh! My ears are burning!" Patton said cheerily as he entered the living room.

"Do you need some type of ointment for that?" Logan asked, Patton chuckling.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. What's up, kiddo?"

Logan opened his mouth to speak, but then turned to look at Virgil. He was still listening to music, seemingly unaware of Logan's presence. Logan sighed and gently tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped slightly before removing his headphones.

"What?" he asked.

"I needed to speak with the three of you about something important. Something that's... been on my mind."

"Oh, what is it?" Patton asked, and Logan noticed the hint of concern in his voice. 

"Nothing's wrong, it's just... I wanted to... open up a bit."

"Oh, okay!" Patton sounded relieved. "Whatever it is, we'll be open minded! Right, you two?" He directed the last addition to Roman and Virgil.

"Absolutely!" Roman declared. "We're not here to judge, only to listen!"

"Yeah, how bad could it be, anyway?" Virgil agreed.

Logan swallowed. Their words of encouragement were helpful, though he was still wrought with anxiety. He noted humorously that it was ironic that it was him instead of Virgil facing anxiety.

Logan cleared his throat. "I'm sure it will be a shock to you, but I... I age regress."

There. It was out in the open. Logan couldn't stop glancing amongst everyone's faces, gauging their reactions. It seemed to be mostly confusion, which was valid and understandable.

"Uh... you mind explaining what that means?" Patton asked shyly, possibly nervous about upsetting him. 

"Of course. Age regression is when someone mentally shifts to a younger headspace. It's a common reaction to stress or trauma, and helps the person cope with it. There is also voluntary regression, which I sometimes do. It's... basically a good way for me to unwind after a difficult day. Does that make sense?"

There was a pause until Roman spoke. "So... you act like... a kid?"

"It would be more accurate to say I am a kid, I suppose. Not physically, but mentally."

"How, though?" Virgil asked. "I don't... exactly get it."

Logan took a pause to gather his words. "It's a reaction that the mind has to certain stimuli, be it positive or negative. For instance, I... often find myself in a regressed state while watching certain movies or wearing certain clothes. Other times... it's due to... certain stressors. Sometimes it's easier to deal with the stress in a more childlike state, where everything is a bit simpler."

Roman chuckled. "So Mr I-Have-No-Feelings has stress?"

Logan took a deep breath. "Occasionally. My work can be... tiresome at times."

"It is a little weird that the embodiment of logic goes through enough stress to turn into a child," Virgil noted.

An ice cold spear went through Logan's heart. He had to convince himself that Virgil didn't mean it like that, but the phrasing was not particularly kind.

"And you do this... intentionally?" Patton asked.

"Y-yes. More often than not, it's voluntary. Although I have had a few moments of involuntary regression."

"I just don't get it," Roman murmured.

Logan was nervous, but continued on. "What don't you get, exactly?" he asked patiently.

"Any of it. I've never even heard of this before now. Are you sure you don't just... act childish sometimes?"

Logan's heart hurt. He looked down at the ground away from Roman. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but this wasn't it.

"I'm sure Roman doesn't mean to offend," Patton said with a nervous chuckle. "I mean, we all know I act childish sometimes! How do we know it's not the same thing?"

"There's a difference between acting like a child and actually being one," Logan stated firmly.

"But you're not one!" Virgil exclaimed. "You're Logic, you're the one who, like, knows what to do! You're probably the most mature one here! Maybe you like... kid stuff or whatever, but that doesn't mean you turn into a kid!"

Logan was on the verge of tears. He didn't want to be invalidated like this, but what if Virgil was right? What if he was wrong about his regression?

"Logan, I think Virgil's right," Patton spoke up. "While I don't know if age regression is a real thing, I doubt that's what you do. I mean, if you did that, Thomas probably would too! And the rest of us! It wouldn't make sense for it to just be you."

Logan's heart dropped when he realised they were right. He couldn't possibly age regress. This was something else entirely.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't be sorry," Patton cooed. "I'm glad you told us so we could sort this whole thing out."

Logan nodded rather numbly. "I... I should go." With that, he sank out to his room.

He couldn't believe he'd been so foolish this whole time. He actually believed he was turning into a child when there was no evidence to support it.

Logic, an age regressor. What a silly idea.

***

He spent the next several days avoiding Remus and Janus. They would want to know how things went. They would want to care for their little regressed Logan.

Logan didn't have the heart to tell them it was all a lie.

He was surprised that Janus hadn't caught onto the deception. He could detect lies, everyone knew that. Even still, Logan knew the truth. He couldn't possibly be an age regressor. 

He also repressed any possible feelings of childishness. Whenever he was tempted to snuggle a stuffie, he pushed the thought away. He occasionally wanted to suck on his pacifier, but refused. He knew repression was unhealthy and wouldn't do him any good, but what else could he do?

Though, of course, he couldn't avoid his former caregivers forever.

Janus and Remus had both been knocking on his door all week, but he never answered. This time, however, instead of knocking, they barged right in.

"Alright, what's going on?" Janus asked.

"Yeah, what gives, dude?" Remus exclaimed. "If you've been regressing alone—"

"I'm not regressing," Logan said firmly.

Janus's face twitched. "Half truth. What's going on?" he repeated more sternly.

"I'm not a regressor, it was never that. I simply... have more childish needs sometimes. And I'm putting a stop to it."

"You dumbhead, of course you regress!" Remus argued. "I've seen you regressed and you're adorable!"

"No! If I was a regressor, why isn't Thomas one as well? Or any of you?"

There was a pause before Janus spoke. "They didn't take it well, did they?"

Logan's stomach twisted into knots. "They helped me realise the truth. And the truth is I'm not a regressor."

"Janny, tell him he's lying," Remus said with a smirk. Janus said nothing and Remus looked over at him. "Jan?"

"He believes his words too much for me to say. They really broke him."

"No one broke me," Logan said. "If anything, they fixed me."

"Oh, Logan, there was nothing to fix," Janus said gently.

"I think maybe you should leave."

Remus whined. "But Logan—"

"Please."

Janus sighed. "Come on, Remus. It seems we're unwelcome here."

Remus pouted and crossed his arms. "Fine. I missed you, you dumb nerd."

They left, and Logan let his tears slip away. 

Their presence made him feel like a child, and he had to push that away. So he pushed _them_ away.

It was late, so he got ready for bed, silently crying all the while. He wiped away his tears and climbed into bed. He turned off his lamp and wept into his pillow.

He cried himself to sleep, and no one could have predicted what happened when he woke up.

***

Janus was rather upset with how things went. He decided to have a talk with Patton the next morning. He didn't tell Remus what he was doing, since he knew he would want to tag along.

He knocked on Patton's door, hearing Patton's ever cheery voice tell him to hold on. After a moment or two, the door opened, and there Patton was, though his smile faltered slightly upon seeing Janus there.

"Oh! Hi! This is unexpected! What's up?"

"Logan told you, didn't he?"

Patton seemed confused for a moment before realisation struck. "Oh, about... the kid thing."

Janus took a breath and restrained himself. "Yeah. That. The _age regression_. Did you tell him it wasn't real?"

"Oh, no! We helped him realise he doesn't do that! I never said it wasn't real!"

Janus wanted to punch a wall. "I see. I'm one of his caregivers, and I can assure you, he very much does. You hurt him. Quite a lot, actually. To the point where he seems to believe whatever lies you fed him. I've been with him when he's regressed. He's very different from the Logan you're familiar with."

Patton seemed rather uncomfortable, and if Janus was being honest, he considered that a win. "I just don't understand why Logan would do that when the rest of us don't, including Thomas."

"You don't have to understand. You just have to be respectful. Because he's not hurting anyone by being open and honest about who he is. But you hurt him when you invalidated a part of his identity."

Patton let out a breath and looked down at the ground. "Did I... did I really do that?"

"You did. And I'd like for you to make it right."

Patton nodded. "I will. Right now."

Janus went with Patton to Logan's room. He had to make sure things went well this time. Patton knocked on the door.

"Logan? You awake? I wanna talk about last week." There was no response, which Janus was expecting. "Please, Logan? I wanna make things right. What I said wasn't fair, I should've respected you and... understood that you... have your own experiences. Just because the rest of us don't do the age regression thing, that doesn't mean it's impossible for you to."

Janus forced back a smile. He was glad he was able to convince Patton that his words had hurt. He hoped Logan was willing to listen.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Patton apologised, and Janus knew he meant it. "Please... say something?" A pause, and Logan didn't respond. "If you don't say anything, I'm coming in."

Logan said nothing, and as promised, Patton opened the door. Logan was sitting on his bed with his covers pulled over his head. It looked almost as if he was hiding, and Janus hated that.

"Logan?" Patton murmured. No response.

He approached the sheeted figure and removed the blanket. He gasped at what was revealed underneath.

A very small child was on Logan's bed. Wearing his clothes?

Janus stared in awe at the child, who cowered away in fear. Patton's paternal instincts seemed to kick in at that moment.

"Oh, hey, it's okay," he soothed. "We're not gonna hurt you, kiddo, okay? What's your name?"

The child didn't respond immediately, but Janus had his suspicions. The curly brown hair, the crystal blue eyes, Logan's pyjamas, it was fairly obvious.

"Logic."

A chill ran down Janus's spine while Patton softly gasped. They exchanged a look, both of shock, before looking at the child once more. Logan was staring at Janus's scales it seemed, which only served to make him self conscious.

"Logan?" Patton asked. "You're... so young."

"Who are you?" Logan asked frightfully. "And who's Logan?"

There was a pause until Janus spoke up. "That will take some explaining, I would imagine. If you truly don't remember us."

"I don't. Should I?"

Patton put a hand over his mouth, likely to keep from crying. Janus had to admit, he was rather emotional as well. He wanted Logan to remember him.

"We're Thomas's Sides... all grown up," Janus explained.

Logan's eyes widened. "But that's impossible! Thomas is six!"

"I'm afraid not. He's currently thirty years old. You have... as it would seem, age regressed to the point of both physical transformation and amnesia."

Logan blinked. "I... shapeshifted? But... only the king can do that."

"Oh my gosh," Patton murmured, another chill going down Janus's spine.

"Yes... about that... we'll have to update you on everything that has happened since Thomas's youth. Uh... let's see, six years old. Thomas was... I believe seven or eight when the divide occurred. The king is... no longer the king. He became two separate Sides known as the prince and the duke. After that, we stopped going by our... functional names, and adopted human names. You chose the name Logan."

Janus gave him some time to process all of that before continuing. He seemed quite surprised, which was understandable. This must have been rather shocking information.

"The king is gone?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so."

"And my name is... Logan?"

"Yes. And this is Morality— no, wait, at six you were called Emotions. He now goes by Patton. Mine is Janus, but you know me as—"

"Deceit."

Janus paused for a moment. "The scales made that one obvious, didn't they?"

Logan grinned. "You're funny." 

Janus smiled, his heart fluttering in his chest. He cleared his throat and decided to continue.

"Do you remember Fear?" he asked. Logan nodded, though he frowned. "Thomas knows him now. But he knows him as Anxiety, also known as Virgil."

Logan raised his brows. "Really? Does he know you too?"

"He does. He even knows my human name, which I was reluctant to give for some time. Though I suppose you wouldn't know anything about that."

"Why did the king change?"

Janus's heart hurt quite a bit hearing that question. As much as he enjoyed the company of Remus, and appreciated Roman when he wasn't attacking him, he truly missed the king.

"Uh... Thomas repressed the... darker creativity that... the king sometimes indulged in. When they separated, the prince took the... butterflies and rainbows, while the duke... he took the, uh... monsters and... scary storms."

"Oh. Interesting. So... why did I lose my memory and get so young?"

"That I'm afraid I don't know. This is... a new development. I know that last night you were upset, and you've been repressing your age regression, but I—"

"What's that?" Logan interrupted.

"Oh, it's when someone mentally becomes younger. It's a coping method."

"Then maybe I did that so hard that I shapeshifted. If I repressed it, it must've gone wrong."

Janus knew he made a good point. He just wished he knew how to undo it.

"If you repressed your regression so much that you mentally and physically regressed back to your six year old self, then how on earth do we rectify that?"

"We need the others," Patton spoke up, his voice thick and his eyes glossy. "They can help us fix this."

Janus gave a quick nod. He held out his hand towards Logan. "Come on, follow us. We'll introduce you to Virgil and the twins."

Logan blinked. He slowly got out of his bed and struggled to keep his now oversized pyjamas on. Janus realised he would need new clothes. 

"Um, Patton, can you—"

"Of course," Patton waved a hand and Logan was in a short sleeve navy button up, a red bow tie, and blue jeans.

Janus smiled. "Better?"

Logan returned the expression. He looked up at Patton. "Thank you."

Patton smiled but Janus knew it was forced. "Of course, kiddo."

Logan took Janus's hand and they all walked to the living room. Janus had Logan sit on the couch next to Patton and he summoned the other three. Which, of course, meant that only the twins rose up. Typical.

"Who's the kid?" Remus asked in a delighted voice. 

"Why is there a child here, exactly?" Roman asked, sounding more along the lines of confused.

"I'm Logic," Logan introduced. "Or, I guess Logan. Hm, I like that name. No wonder I chose it."

"What?" The twins both exclaimed, an equal amount of concern in their voices.

"Long story, but first, where's Virgil?" Janus asked rather impatiently.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Virgil, listen to the snake!" he said as he raised an arm, Virgil rising up and stumbling slightly.

"God, I _hate_ doing that," he grumbled, freezing upon seeing Logan. "Who's the kid?"

"That's what I asked!" Remus said. "It's Logan!"

"No seriously, who's the kid?" Virgil asked.

"I really am Logan," Logan said. "I seem to be... smaller."

Virgil's eyebrows shot up. "What? That- what? How? Why? What?"

"When and who!" Remus added gleefully. 

"Logan has been repressing his age regression to the point where it has caused him to not only shapeshift but to also lose his memory," Janus explained. "As far as he's concerned, Thomas is a six year old boy."

Remus approached Logan and knelt in front of him. "Hey, little guy! I'm Remus! You want a lollipop?"

Logan smiled and nodded. Remus summoned two identical lollipops, one in each hand.

"One of these tastes like butterscotch, and the other tastes like frog's breath!"

Janus sighed sharply. "Remus—"

"Choose carefully! Hope you like butterscotch!"

Logan giggled and looked between each lollipop. He put a finger to his chin in thought before picking the one in Remus's left hand. He put it in his mouth and smiled.

"I love butterscotch!" he spoke around the candy.

Remus ruffled Logan's hair and got to his feet. He glanced over at Janus. "Frog's breath lollipop?"

Janus rolled his eyes. "We need to focus. We have to find a way to reverse this."

"Wait, you said he's been repressing his age regression?" Virgil asked.

"Unfortunately."

"He doesn't age regress! We talked about that like a week ago."

"Makes you wonder why he might have been repressing it," Janus snapped. 

Patton stepped in before Virgil could fire back. He got to his feet and held up his hands between the two of them.

"Hey, now, let's not argue. It's true, Virgil, we were wrong. Let's not debate on whether or not Logan regresses, now is not the time."

Virgil sighed and shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets. He said nothing, and neither did Janus.

"Didn't he say he does that when he's stressed?" Roman asked.

"He does, yes," Janus said softly.

"Maybe if he's relaxed enough, he'll go back to normal."

"It may not be that simple, Roman," Janus said. "This is more than just Logan being shapeshifted, this is also an amnesiac episode."

"Do you have any better suggestions?"

Janus sighed shortly. "Well, no."

"Then we might as well try, right?"

Janus paused before conceding. "Fine. What do you propose we do to relax?"

Roman snapped his fingers and the living room had suddenly changed. There was a blanket fort on the couch, there was a table with bags of popcorn, and with a flourish, Roman had changed into his Beauty and the Beast onesie.

Janus raised a brow. "A little extra, wouldn't you say?"

"Absolutely."

Logan giggled from inside the blanket fort. He poked his head out. "You gotta teach me how to do that!"

Roman smiled. "How does a Disney marathon sound?"

Logan clapped his hands. "Yay! Can we start with The Lion King? I haven't seen it since we saw it at the theatre!"

"Oh, but of course!" Roman snapped his fingers again, and Disney+ was on the screen ready to play The Lion King. "Everyone get changed into a onesie!"

"I don't have one," Logan said.

Roman waved his hand. "Of course you do."

Logan looked down at his fluffy Stitch onesie and gasped. "I don't know what this is, but I love it!"

"Oh, that's right, you wouldn't remember Lilo & Stitch. We shall watch that one next!"

Everyone changed into their onesies, though Janus was rather reluctant. He wasn't sure that this would help, but at least Logan was having fun.

"C'mon, snake eyes!" Remus said, wearing the rat onesie he wore when Logan was regressed. "Get into the spirit!"

"For once, I agree with my brother!" Roman teased. "What, don't you have a onesie?"

Janus waved his hand and changed into his snake onesie, the hands shaped like extra snake heads. "I still don't think this will work."

"Let's hope you're wrong."

They all got settled in to watch the movie. Janus sat with Logan in the blanket fort, holding him in his lap as he ate from one of the popcorn bags. He didn't like to admit how protective he was over little Logan, but he very much was. Now that he was this... size, that protective nature only doubled.

He kept an eye on Logan more than watched the movie. He seemed plenty relaxed, and yet still no change. Janus couldn't wait around much longer, he wanted to find a solution as soon as possible.

"I still don't understand why Scar sent the hyenas after him after sending him off," Roman complained. "They couldn't finish the job the first time, so why didn't he just buckle down and get his claws dirty?"

"You know, I'm beginning to suspect that watching a children's movie is no way to get Logan back to being in his adult form," Janus pointed out.

Roman paused. "Maybe so. But what do you suggest?"

Janus gave it some thought. He looked down at Logan, who was still watching the movie. He thought about everything he knew about Logan, and then it hit him.

"What does Logan do to unwind other than age regression? Puzzles. What if we all start putting together a puzzle? That might work."

"Ooh, good idea!" Patton exclaimed. "He's got plenty of puzzles in his room, let's get a big one!"

"I do?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, you wanna pick the one we do?" Janus asked, subconsciously putting on his caregiver voice. It seemed to delight Logan as he excitedly climbed out of the blanket fort.

Janus went with Logan to his room to pick out a puzzle. They were all kept on his bookshelf, and Logan immediately went with the one with a fox in a forest. They went back to the living room with it and Logan was quick to begin setting it up.

The Sides all gathered around to sort out the different pieces by colour, keeping the edge pieces in their own pile. It wasn't long before Roman began complaining.

"This will take far too long!" he whined.

"Nuh uh," Logan argued. "If we do this together, it'll be easy."

Roman groaned dramatically, but conceded. They all continued sorting through pieces and putting them together. It was a fairly large puzzle, so they had their work cut out for them, but they could easily have it done before the end of the day.

"Any memories coming back?" Virgil asked, connecting a couple edge pieces.

"No," Logan responded. "But I am enjoying the puzzle."

"You would," Roman teased, Logan giggling. 

"Just so everyone is aware," Janus began. "Once we get Logan back to normal, we will be having a discussion about his age regression. All of us."

There was a pause before Virgil spoke up. "I still think it's weird."

Janus clenched his fists. "I will sucker punch you."

"Let's not get violent," Patton said calmly. "We all do weird things, let's not be judgmental."

"I don't think it's that weird," Logan stated matter of factly. "I can see why someone would want to be six. There's not as much stress as grown ups deal with. You can do pretty much whatever you want. Who _wouldn't_ want to be six?"

There was silence amongst the group. They all exchanged a glance and continued working on the puzzle. It wasn't too much longer before it was completed. 

"Still nothing?" Janus asked.

"No. Maybe we should get another puzzle."

"I don't think puzzles will help," Janus murmured. "There must be something else to try."

They spent all day exploring different solutions, all of which ultimately failing. Logan found it particularly exhausting. By the end of the day, he was dead tired.

Everyone went to bed, Janus helping Logan get ready. He got Logan changed into his Stitch onesie and summoned him a simple nightlight. 

"Do you need anything else?" Janus asked.

"No. This will work. Thank you."

"Of course. Tomorrow we can try again, right?"

Logan nodded. He gave Janus a hug, who quickly returned it. They separated and Janus got Logan into bed.

"Night, Janus," Logan said.

"Sweet dreams, little one."

Janus left, and Logan could finally sleep. Though just as he thought he was about to drift off, he felt the ever familiar internal tug from Thomas.

He was being summoned.

He rose up and saw who could only be the grown up Thomas sitting in bed. He thought seeing the Sides as grown ups could prepare him for what Thomas would look like, but he was quite wrong.

Though, of course, he did look just as shocked as he had imagined.

"Uh... okay, I know I summoned Logan," Thomas said.

"You did. I'm him."

Thomas raised his eyebrows. "Okay. Why do you look like that?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got time."

Logan sat down next to Thomas on the bed, realising he was still holding the unicorn stuffie he'd been snuggling in bed. He held it close and began explaining.

"Well, I'm not s'posed to be six. I do something called age regression. From what Janus said, it means I turn into a kid in my head. But for some reason, I turned into a kid physically too. I also lost my memory, so I don't know why this happened, but it did. Questions?"

Thomas blinked. "Uh, yeah. So... you age regress?"

"I guess. I don't know much about it, since I'm six, but it's a way to cope with stress. I think it makes the others uncomfortable."

"Why do you say that?" Thomas asked, sounding somewhat concerned.

"Virgil said it was weird. Remus and Janus are nice about it, though. Maybe it is weird. Maybe I'm weird."

"Logan, no," Thomas said firmly yet calmly. "You're not weird for coping with your stress however you need to. If that means... reverting back to being a kid, that's absolutely fine."

Logan smiled at the warm feeling in his chest. "So... you don't think it's weird?"

"No way, kid. It makes you special. I accept you for everything you are, including regressing."

_"So Mr I-Have-No-Feelings has stress?"_

_"It is a little weird that the embodiment of logic goes through enough stress to turn into a child."_

_"I mean, we all know I act childish sometimes! How do we know it's not the same thing?"_

Everything flooded into Logan's mind all at once. It was almost too much to bear.

_"Oh, shut up nerdy Wolverine!"_

_"I'm gonna prohibit your breathing if you keep this up!"_

_"Logan, can you stop? Please?"_

Tears filled Logan's eyes as he remembered it all. His head felt as though it was about to crack from the strain.

At least when he finally collapsed onto the floor, the last memory to flash through his mind was of Janus and Remus caring for him.

***

Logan awoke rather slowly. His head still hurt, but not as badly. He opened his eyes. He was back in his room.

His memory had returned, but at what cost? His precious innocence, his joyful youth. Every reason he regressed, the intangible things that he wanted to remember.

He looked to the side of his bed and saw Janus in a chair with his head in his hands. He seemed distraught.

"Janus?" Logan asked roughly. 

Janus's head snapped up, eyes wide as they landed on him. "Logan. I was worried, we all were. How do you feel?"

"Headache. Were you really worried about me?"

"Of course. When Thomas called us in after you passed out, I... I didn't know what to do. I'm just glad you're okay."

Logan didn't know how to feel. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling. After everything that happened, he didn't like admitting how close to regression he was, but he knew he couldn't push the feelings away anymore.

"Papa Jay?" he asked in a small voice, Janus immediately taking his hand.

"Yes, my little starlight?"

"What if the others treat me different?"

"Well... I can't promise that they won't. But if they hurt you, you can always come to me, and I will never judge you."

Tears rose to Logan's eyes. He glanced around for Rainbow, and when he spotted her he immediately grabbed her and held her to his chest.

"I should talk to 'em. But... what do I say?"

"Explain that their words hurt you. I'm sure that, given recent events, they'll listen. Do you want me there with you when you talk to them?"

"Yes, p'ease."

Logan figured there was no time like the present, so even in his mostly regressed headspace, he decided to talk with them. He held Janus's hand and they walked through the mindscape in search of them. Patton and Virgil were in the kitchen, Patton doing dishes while Virgil sat on the counter scrolling through his phone.

"Hi," Logan murmured, getting both Sides' attention.

Patton dropped the cup in his hand and went over to give Logan a hug. He slowly reciprocated, fiddling with the fabric of Patton's shirt. He saw Virgil get down from the counter and put his phone away.

"Good to see you, L," he greeted.

Patton pulled away, holding Logan's face in his hands. "I'm so sorry that I made you feel bad, Logan! I didn't mean to! You - you can regress all you want! I support you, okay?"

Logan's tears returned, and this time they fell. Patton wiped them away with his thumbs.

Janus placed a hand on Logan's shoulder, which reminded him of what he came out here to say in the first place.

"Where's Roman?" he asked with a sniffle. 

Patton raised a hand and summoned Roman. He seemed mildly annoyed until he saw Logan and a small smile graced his lips.

"Oh, thank god!" Roman suddenly lifted Logan in the air with ease, spinning the two of them around. Logan broke out into a fit of giggles, squealing with delight. He finally set Logan down, but continued to hug him. "You scared me a little."

Logan's heart jumped in his chest. "I did?"

"Yeah. I wasn't sure when you were gonna wake up."

"I thought princes weren't scared of anything."

Roman was about to speak until he pulled away and carefully scanned Logan's face. "Are you... regressed right now?"

Logan blushed and looked away. His stomach tied itself up in knots. He was suddenly very shy about speaking until Janus took his hand.

"Hey, it's okay," he whispered. "Tell them what's on your mind."

Logan took a deep breath. "When I said I regress... you said I was weird. You made me think I made it all up. It hurt. 'Cause I trusted you, and... I... I'm really mad at you! All of you!"

There was a long silence as they all took that in. Logan was on the verge of tears again but he didn't want to cry. He was done crying.

"You have every right to be mad at us," Patton said forlornly. "The way we reacted was... shameful. And I'm so sorry if we broke your trust in us."

"Yeah, I never should've said it was weird," Virgil spoke up. "I... I never meant that you were weird, I just meant the age regression itself... which I guess isn't much better. Still, I... I'm really sorry. We hurt you — I hurt you. If age regressing makes you feel good, then... I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"Oh, Logan," Roman murmured. "I'm so very sorry for invalidating you. I just... didn't understand. But that's no excuse. I... I did research last night, about age regression, and I understand now that it's a healthy way to cope, and... I never should have judged you."

Logan was overwhelmed by everything that was said. He hadn't expected such a warm response. Of course, it would still be difficult to trust them, but this was a good first step towards that.

Over time, Logan felt more and more comfortable regressing around Roman, Virgil, and Patton. It took some patience, but they managed.

Logan was mid-regression with Virgil in the living room, but he felt too awkward to say anything. Although Virgil must have picked up on it because he started showing Logan cat videos on his phone. It wasn't too long before he was fully regressed with Virgil there to watch him.

Not long after that, he was working with Roman on the next Sanders Sides script and became stressed, which led to an involuntary regression. He tried to hide it and get back to work, but Roman casually said they both needed a break to watch some Disney in onesies.

A week later, Logan was making dinner when he felt he was about to regress. He didn't want to, but it was inevitable. How would he be able to cook if he was regressed?

Patton walked in. "Hey, Lo! Ooh, smells good!"

Logan didn't respond, frozen on the spot. He couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do next, why couldn't he remember?

"You good, kiddo?"

The kiddo was what sent him spiralling.

Logan whined, on the verge of tears. He didn't know how to tell Patton he was too little to be cooking. Dinner was going to be ruined, all because he couldn't keep it together for ten minutes.

"Hey." Patton gently placed a hand on Logan's back, approaching his side. "You feeling little?"

Logan nodded. Patton led him to the kitchen table and sat him down. He went back to the stove and fiddled with a few things. Logan felt awful. He couldn't even do this one simple task.

Patton came back over. "You still wanna help?" he asked. Logan hesitantly nodded. "Okay, you get to be in charge of spices! I tell you what to sprinkle in, and you put it in. Think you can do it?"

Logan grinned and nodded again. He could do that, no problem.

He was so worried about being treated differently. Little did he know, being treated differently was just what he needed.


End file.
